Always
by Kind-Nepenthe
Summary: The story of Severus Snape and Lily Evans, from childhood to the end. This is a work in progress.
1. Chapter 1

_These characters belong to J.K. Rowling and are not mine, no matter how much I wish they were. _

_I also want to note that I changed __the story around quite a bit and instead of having two chapters I've just put them into 1. I think I like it, although I am prone to changing my mind quite a bit so we'll see. I've begun chapter 2 and I'm hoping I'll have it added by time I leave for Canada this Friday. If not, I'll have it up by time I get back._

_Oh, and please do not hesitate to leave feedback or concerns. I haven't written in quite a long time so I'm a bit rusty and find that tips help greatly._

_Enjoy._

**Chapter 1**

It was exactly two weeks since Snape had confronted the two girls in the park and exactly two weeks since he had made a fool of himself to the red head he had tried so desperately to please. While this may seem unfortunate, everything had worked out in Snape's favor exactly 3 days later. While he sat at the edge of the playground lazily dragging a stick through the dirt, the little red headed girl appeared at the corner and confidently walked over to him.

"Hi!" she squealed, a smile erupting on her face. "What are you doing?"

Snape blushed and tried to look her in the eyes, but had found it nearly impossible with the events from earlier in the week swimming through his brain. Instead he sat rigid, the stick limp in his fingers and his head down. It looked as if he was concentrating very hard on what he was about to say, but Instead of saying something interesting or even explaining the fact that he was merely sitting at the edge of park awaiting for her to show up so he could possibly explain himself a bit better, all he managed was "Ummm.."

The little red head smiled again and plopped down opposite him. "My name's Lily" she begin to explain. "My sister, the one who was with me a few days ago, that's Tuney. Well, Petunia really but she hates when you call her that. "She waited a few moments, expected the boy to follow suit and introduce himself but when he continued to stare at the ground and remain silent she thought maybe it was best if she left him alone for a bit.

Lily bit her lip and her brows furrowed. "Right, I'll just go then." She sounded a bit disappointed.

At the sound of crunching twigs as she got up Snape looked at her, a pleading look shown in his face.

"My name is Severus!" he almost shouted at her. "I wasn't spying on you, I just saw that you could do magic and I didn't know there were any other wizards around here and I just wanted to talk to you!" He finished the last of the sentence and a puff of air blew from his lungs.

Lily looked at him quickly, her eyes were big and bright and a rather big grin had taken up a large portion of her lower face. She sat back down and leaned forward, her face coming within inches of Snape's. "So you really _are_ a wizard then?" she asked, an obvious excitement in her voice.

"Mmhm" his head nodded as he spoke and he tilted it back away from Lily's. "And you're a witch! I saw what you could do. You have loads of power!" he said with an air of self-reliance.

"What can you do?" she asked, inching her face closer and making up for the gap that Snape had made.

An hour later both children still sat on the edge of the park, still talking. It was only when Lily had noticed the sun setting when she jumped up and explained that she had to get home for dinner.

"I bet you have to get home too huh?" she asked as they walked side by side across the park. "Your parents are probably worried if you've been at the park all day."

Color rose to Snape's cheeks and his hand brushed his hair out of his face. "Yeh." He muttered. "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Of course! I have loads more to ask you! Bye Severus!" and with that Lily Evans skipped off the path and toward the sidewalk.

"Bye…" said Snape, watching her until she had rounded a corner and was out of sight.

Now, exactly 1 week and 4 days after their first _official_ meeting they both sat in a small clearing surrounded by trees and talking quietly, a river behind them sending the noise of running water towards them. Lily lay stretched out on her back and Snape looked down at her, a look of anxiety on his face.

"..so I didn't mean to do it. I mean… since we don't have our wands I can't always control what I do yet. I was just angry that _she_ had been spying on us. I'm sorry" he finished.

Lily sat up on her elbows and looked up into Snape's thin sallow face. "You shouldn't have lied to me, but I understand. _She_ is my sister you know, so just try and be nice to her."

Snape's face contorted into a sneer. "She hasn't been very nice to _you_!" he said.

"Tuney just… she just doesn't understand." Lily said, looking a bit like she was going to start to cry.

Snape blushed and looked away, unsure of what to say or do. "Don't worry, we'll be going to Hogwarts soon and you'll see! It's going to be great!" he finally said. A soft smile appeared on Lily's face and she lay back down in the soft grass.

"Oh!" she yelped jumping back up to a sitting position. "I almost forgot! My mum says you can come over for dinner if you'd like. I mean.. you don't have to do if you don't want" she stammered "but it'd be nice."

The color rose to Snape's face again and he stared off toward the river. The idea of going to a muggle house for didn't immediately sounds like a very pleasant idea, but when he looked down at Lily and his eyes darted over her red hair, her rosy cheeks, and finally settling on her bright green eyes he realized that it didn't matter as long as she was there. "Sure" he said, noticing the smile that quickly took form on her face.

Through the rest of the week Snape and Lily met when they could. For Lily this meant every other day after she had gotten home from piano practice or horseback riding lessons and after she had finished whatever family commitment it was that day. Snape on the other hand would take his usual place behind the Spirea shrub every morning and wait there until early evening, just in case Lily happened to come by unexpected. He would usually bring a book he had snuck from his mother's library and sit and read and practice, using a nearby twig as a wand. He was sure by the end of the summer he would know more spells and potions than any of the other first years, which he was quite proud of. On a day he had brought out his mother's old _Defense Against The Dark Arts_ book along with a rather battered copy of a book called Moste Potente Potions, Lily showed up abruptly. He was skimming through the tattered potions book when he was surprised by a giggly voice.

"Hey you!" she squealed.

Snape, caught off guard, had slammed the book shut and swiped both behind his back before he was even able to look at who had uncovered him. His pallid face took a look of defiance until he peered up into Lily's laughing face. "Oh, it's you." He said.

Lily's brow furrowed. "Of course it's me! My lessons were cancelled today and mum's cleaning the house." She tilted her head and tried to peek behind Snape's back. "Whatcha got there?"

"Some of my mum's" he said pulling the books out from behind his back. "Wanna see?"

Lily's cheeps of delight brought a smirk to Snape's face and caused him to sit up a bit straighter than he normally would have. They both poured over the books, every now and then Lily would exclaim a squeal in delight or she would send out a little gasp and openly wonder why anyone would want to make such a dreadful potion. Snape not wanting to offend his only friend, merely kept his mouth shut and continued to flip the pages.

"Oy!" Lily stuck a hand to her mouth and suppressed a giggle. She pointed to a potion which was labeled Babbling Beverage causing Snape to smirk.

"That'd be a good one for that sister of yours" he said.

Lily frowned but her mouth twitched slightly, like she was stopping a smile from forming. She rolled her eyes and continued to skip through pages. Invigoration Draught and Strengthening Solution passed in front of theirs eyes, along with Draught of Living Death, Felix Felicis, and a number of very complicated looking love potions.

"Severus..." Lily began, looking up from the book.

"Yea?"

"Will we really have to learn all these?" She looked a bit worried. "I just mean, some of them seem really nasty. I couldn't imagine having to take some of these" she said.

"Well, you don't have to take them. I mean, we'll mix the potions but that's it" he sounded confident but Lily still had a worried look spread across her face.

"They look really hard. I don't even know what any of these ingredients are!"

"Don't worry" said Snape "I can help you. We'll learn a bit just from looking through my mum's books, but they'll teach us loads when we get to school" he said, sticking his nose slightly in the air and nodding confidently.

Lily smiled but set the book down and stood up and stretched. "C'mon" she said "let's go to the swings. My head hurts."

Snape frowned but decided that following Lily to the swings was a far better idea than sitting in the bushes alone. He tucked the books away in the shrubs and he and Lily walked over to the playground. They spent the rest of the afternoon swinging, playing, and just acting like kids. When it was time for Lily to leave Snape walked her to the edge of the park as usual and they said their goodbyes and they each took a different path home.

Snape had just gotten to his front door when he heard something crash inside. His heart sank and he made a small groan before pushing in the battered wooden door. He could hear his mother and father in the back of the house arguing about something and although he didn't hear exactly what, he was sure it was about him. He shook his head and walked into the kitchen which was messy and had a few broken cups on the floor. He had started picking them up when he heart his father's yells come quickly to the living room behind him. Distinctively he shot up straight just as his father exploded into the cramped living area, knocking a book off the back of the couch and sending it flying across the room.

"You!" he bellowed at Snape. "Where have you been!?"

Snape stared at his feet, hate erupting inside him. "The park, sir." He whispered.

"The park eh! Must be nice not to have to work all day and come home to this hell hole!" his dad yelled, coming quickly up to Snape and grabbing him by the collar.

A small voice came from the left of him and Snape glanced sideways at his mother who had just walked into the room. "Leave him alone Tobias, he hasn't done anything."

"Well that's the point inn't Eileen! He doesn't do a damn thing around here! Just goes off to the park and plays with his little _girlfriend_, don'tcha boy!" Tobias's face was now within inches of Snape's, the smell of alcohol ejecting from his mouth. "A pretty little thing like that" he said, now snarling "What she doing hanging out with rubbish like you?"

Snape was now boiling over with anger and he stared stone cold into his father's face. Tobias Snape just laughed.

"Trust me boy, she'll soon enough see you for what you are. Nothing but a poor mismatched, greasy haired, hook nosed little freak!" he spat.

Before he even realized what happened Tobias Snape had flown across the room and against the wall, his shoulder leaving a small hole the size of a tennis ball in the drywall. Eileen gasped and rounded on her son, but before she could say or do anything she was shoved out of the way by a very angry Tobias who headed straight for Snape.

"Using magic on me!" he howled "I'll teach you a thing or two boy!"

Snape tried to turn from his father but before he could he was on the floor. It felt like his head was going to explode and he could feel something warm running down his face and into his eye. He tried to get up but the immense pressure he felt on his head made him feel sick. He laid his head back and down and closed his eyes, he just wanted to sleep. The thought of Lily with her dark red hair and bright green eyes were the last thing that went through his mind before Severus Snape's head thudded to the floor and he blacked out.

A whole week had gone by when the residents of Spinner's End had all encountered a visit from a very polite red headed girl looking for someone by the name of Severus. She was almost to the end of the road when she knocked on the door of a house owned by a very bad-mannered old woman who, by the smell discharged out of the front door, must have owned a great deal of cats. It wasn't until after Lily had yelled three times that she was looking for the Snape household did the woman seem to hear her, and pointing across the street at a small unkempt house, told her to bugger off.

Unsure of her plans of just walking straight up to the door, she decided to simply walk by to watch for any signs of life inside. It was only a moment or two before she recognized the hunched amble of the person in the far left window and decided it was best to direct her attention there instead of the front door. Following the wood line to the side of the house Lily crept from the trees to the small thicket of bushes just below the small window, her heart pounding.

_'If __Tuney__ saw me now_' she thought picking up a few small rocks from the bed of shrubs. She only had to hit the glass twice before a thin sallow faced boy's head popped into view. Confused, he looked out the window and his eyes darted around, looking for the source of the flying pebbles. Finally, his black eyes met a pair of emerald green and he smiled at once.

Disappearing for a few moments his face reappeared as the window itself was quietly pushed open. "What are you doing here?" he hissed. "I told you never to come here." His smile had faded and his eyes were now bolting from the figure crouching beneath his window to the room behind him. "I just don't want you to get in trouble." He said when he noticed the hurt expression on the girl's face.

"I came to look for you. You haven't been at the meeting place in a week and I was starting to worry! I've knocked on just about every door here you know!" she said defiantly. "The old croon next door told me you lived here and then she yelled at me not to bother her anymore. Rude if you ask me."

"You… you were worried?"

"Severus, don't be silly! Of course I was." She said, smiling sympathetically. "You're alright then?"

Snape's cheeks bloomed and looked back into the room behind him. "Just a sec" he said, pulling his head from the open window and shutting it quietly.

A few moments later Snape made his way around the side of the house and was now creeping slowly through the bushes, covering his hands in dirt and causing a hole in his trousers to become even bigger. He squatted next to the girl and tried hard not to meet her eyes, which were now narrowed in a very disagreeable way.

"What happened to your face?" she asked, pointing at a cut above his eyebrow which was surrounded by a fading bruise.

"Lily..."

"Did_ he_ do this to you?" her voiced quavered.

"Its fine" he said, flicking his head so his hair covered part of his face. "Really."

"Oh Severus!" Lily hugged Snape so tightly that he thought his ribs would break. "I hate what he does to you! It isn't fair." He could hear her muffled cries as her face pressed against his shoulder. At that moment the bruises on his face and the painful life he had to leave at Spinners End didn't matter. All that mattered was that someone finally cared enough about him to show him even an ounce of affection.

"We should get out of here" he said after a few moments of basking in Lily's much needed embrace. He grabbed her hand and led them both around the back of the house and towards the woods, taking a hidden path back to the playground.

For the rest of the afternoon Lily and Snape stayed at their meeting place, a clearing on the outskirts of the playground, talking of magic and Hogwarts. They were sitting side by side listening to the river and watching the fish and jump at the bugs that had been caught in the water. Every now and then Snape would catch Lily staring at the bruise on his forehead and he would jerk, causing his hair to fall in his face.

"Does it hurt?" she asked, blushing slightly.

"No. Not anymore. You get used to it anyway." He said, jabbing a stick into the soft earth and twisting it.

Lily frowned and leaned back on her elbows, looking at him with all seriousness on her face.

"What happened?" she asked timidly. She imagined Snape's father as a big burley man with wild hair and burning eyes. Perhaps he was deranged and sick and just didn't know what he was doing. Although, by the stories she's already heard of him, she knew it wasn't true, and she sighed.

"I just got in the way is all" he muttered. "I used magic against him."

Lily's eyebrows raised.

"I don't care!" Snape was now feverishly twisting the twig deeper and deeper into the earth. "I'm glad I hurt him, even if it was for a second. I hate him." The twig had broken and Snape tossed it aside, pushing leaves around and looking for another.

"Why don't you and your mum just go?" She had grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze.

"She won't!" he spat. "She's too weak. Just lets him beat on her like that and doesn't say anything when he goes after me!" Tears filled his eyes but his face remained rigid. He didn't want Lily to see him cry, to see him acting like a child, to see him weak like _her_. He could feel the emotions coming in waves now but he held them back, just like he always did. He had learned to shut down those feelings and memories when it got bad enough. Wallowing in sad memories did nothing to help him and only allowed his father to get to him even more.

Lily squeezed his hand again and leaned closer, resting her head on his shoulder. "Don't worry" she whispered, "you'll be out of here soon and you won't have to deal with him for a while."

The two sad in silence for a while, Lily resting her head on his shoulder and her hand still entwined in his, both watching the river slide through the rocks and spill over a small clog of branches. It was then that Snape heard a low rumble and Lily's head perked, up her cheeks going pink. Suddenly her stomach rumbled rather loudly causing Snape's eyebrows to rise. Seeing the surprised expression on his face, she burst out laughing. Snape followed suit and soon both of them were laughing, the conversation that had taken place just a short while before was soon forgotten.

"I guess that it's then "she said jumping up.

Snape's face took a puzzled look. "Huh?" he asked, slightly depressed at the thought of Lily leaving so soon.

"I'm starving!" she said, grabbing her stomach and rolling her head back. "C'mon, let's go to my place and get something to eat. I'm sure my mum will whip something up." She started to walk away and then looked back. "Don't worry! My mum loves anyone she can fuss over" she added at the sight of Snape's anxious look.

Half hour later both children were sitting in Lily's backyard, a plate of sandwiches and two glasses of lemon-aid between them. Lily was happily munching away at a peanut butter and jelly as Snape slightly fiddled with his, looking slightly embarrassed.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked noticing Snape's apprehension towards the lunch. "You don't like peanut butter and jelly?" she said, taking a rather large chunk out of her own sandwich causing jelly to stick to the corner of her mouth.

"No, I like them just fine. It's just that…" Snape threw at a glance at the corner of the yard where Petunia Evans was busy with a notebook and pen while listening to a transistor radio and pretending not to notice the two of them.

"Don't worry about her. She's busy writing a letter to her _boyfriend_." Lily said, dragging out the word boyfriend and giggling slightly. "They've been writing letters to each other all summer. Mum's been laughing and saying it's nothing to worry about but dad's been sour. Tuney hasn't invited him over once this summer and dad wants to meet him." She said taking another bite, adding more jelly to the sides of her lips.

Snape thought about the first time he met Lily's parents and how overly cheerful and nice they had been to him. "What's she got to worry about?" he asked.

Lily frowned slightly, finished the last of her sandwich and took a long drink from her cup. Snape looked puzzling at her but finally understood.

"Because of you?" he asked, alarmed.

"She's afraid I'll do something in front if him." She cried quietly. "She says we're freaks…"

"She's just jealous!" spat Snape. "You saw the letter from Hogwarts begging the headmaster to take her!"

"Severus please! I don't want to Tuney to know that we found the letter. She'd be very upset with me."

Snape fumed. Upset with Lily? Lily should be the one upset with Petunia for calling her a freak! Being ashamed of Lily when Petunia was nothing but a lousy muggle! Snape shut his mouth though and finally took an angry bite of his sandwich, sending hateful glares in Petunia's direction.

Eventually Lily and Snape finished their sandwiches and Petunia had gone back into the house. It was now mid noon and the sun was beating down so ferociously that both children soon had beads of sweat running down their foreheads and Snape's hair had become even more greasy and straggly.

"This is too much" Lily said at once. "Aren't you hot?" she asked pointing to his oversized coat.

Snape blushed. He would have gladly taken off his coat if it weren't for the mismatched muggle clothes he had on under it. His black jeans, which were torn in random areas and being held up by a decaying brown belt clashed immensely with the oversized stained shirt he was wearing. If it weren't for the extremely thick coat he had on it would appear as if he was pretending to be some kind of pirate or had simply mixed up his dates and was a few months early for Halloween.

"I'm good" he muttered, looking at Lily's neat appearance. She had on a pair of white cropped pants, a flowered green shirt, and her red hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail. Snape thought about what his father had said about Lily being too good for him, and now that he was here with her, he thought that maybe his father was right. Who was he kidding? Lily was only hanging out with now because he had told her about magic and Hogwarts. He was sure that as soon as the two of them made it to school that she would no longer want to be his friend and he would be left alone just as he was before.

"You okay?" Lily's voice snapped Snape from his thoughts. "You look a little pale". Her voice sounded concerned.

"Oh yea, I'm alright." But he wasn't. Now that he and Lily were friends he was worried about what it would be like without her. He would be left with no one to talk to and his days would be spent hiding away from his father instead of talking and playing with her. The last few weeks had been the best times he's ever remembered.

"You know, school is only a two weeks away!" she cried happily. "Mum says we're going to go to Diagon Alley for my stuff this weekend. The teacher who came to the house left us a list with a load of stuff to buy. You should come with!" she squealed "You can buy your stuff too and you can show me around!"

Snape smiled sadly but Lily didn't seem to notice.

"I'm so excited" she said. "We're going to look at owls Severus! Oh and wands! I wonder what kind of wand I'll get..." she said dreamily. "I bet there are going to be a lot of kids shopping for school stuff huh?" she asked, staring at the sparse clouds in the sky.

Snape shrugged his shoulders. "Loads I bet" he muttered, glancing down at his feet he began to play with his shoe strings. Of course there are going to be other students in Diagon Alley, maybe Lily would even make new friends there and then she wouldn't even have to wait until they were in school to forget about him. "I hope you're in Slytherin." he said. "You know, that way we can see each other a lot."

Lily smiled. "Do you know anyone else going to Hogwarts this year" she asked.

"Just a few. Mulciber and Avery are two boys my age, and then there's Lucius Malfoy. He's a few years ahead of us but everyone knows who he is, comes from a long line of purebloods." His gaze shifted from his shoestrings to Lily's face with had gone from excited to concerned.

"Does that make him better at magic? Are there a lot of muggle borns like me at Hogwarts?" she asked.

Lily had brought her knees up to her chest and now had them in a tight embrace, her cheek between them and her face was pointed towards Snape. A slight breeze had picked up causing the loose hairs in her ponytail to flutter about her face and Snape could smell the strong flowery scent her sweaty hair emitted.

"Of course" he said. "Being pureblood doesn't matter."

Lily's body relaxed and she looked back up to the sky. This time Snape pretended to be interested in a hole at the bottom of his trousers but he was thinking about the sorting and what it would be like if Lily was put into a different house. He wasn't sure how the other Slytherins were going to react or if it was even accepted to have a friend in another house. Glancing at Lily he realized it didn't matter what house she was sorted into. He was sure that they'd find enough time to see each other.

"So what day do you want to go to Diagon Alley?"


	2. Chapter 2

_These characters belong to J.K. Rowling and are not mine, no matter how much I wish they were. _

_Be aware that __I changed the story around quite a bit and instead of having two chapters I've put the originals into 1. I think I like it, although I am prone to changing my mind quite a bit so we'll see. This is chapter 2, which I just finished, in a hurry I'm sad to say. I'm leaving in a few hours but since I wanted it to be finished before I did, I kind of rushed it. Sorry._

_Also note that there are sections of this story which are taken from Deathly Hallows and are too be considered SPOILERS. I wanted to try and stay to the original story as much as possible. I do not claim credit for these sections, as I'm sure fans will be able to distinguish them right away._

_Oh, and please do not hesitate to leave feedback or concerns. I haven't written in quite a long time so I'm a bit rusty and find that tips help greatly._

_Enjoy._

**Chapter 2 ****–**** Hogwarts**

Summer couldn't have ended more quickly for some of the students attending Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The fact evident by the many groans and cries coming from the platform 9 ¾, as students ran about, trying to find friends and giving loved ones hugs and kisses before they said their goodbyes for the year and boarded the train.

"Dean dear, behave yourself this year!" a short plum of a woman was saying to her son. "I'm not above sending howlers you know!"

The boy she was talking to looked around 15 and was just as short and plump as the woman was. At the threat of a howler he dropped his chin to his chest and nodded mechanically. "Yes mum" he said.

With the promise of good behavior the woman gave him a kiss on the cheek and sent him off to board the train trailing him with tears of goodbye. No sooner had she turned her back when the boy dug around in his pant pockets and pulled out a couple of small muggle fireworks, a sneer of pleasure on his face. He stuck them back in his pocket and ran off, his head as high as he could manage, obviously looking for someone.

Just down from where they had been standing on the platform, a family of four stood admiring the scene before them. The two girls stood a little apart from their parents and seemed to be arguing.

"… I'm sorry, Tuney, I'm sorry! Listen –"she caught her sister's hand and held it tight, even though the girl called Tuney tried to pull it away. "Maybe once I'm there – no, listen, Tuney! Maybe once I'm there, I'll be able to go to Professor Dumbledore and persuade him to change his mind!"

"I don't – want – to – go!" said Petunia, and she dragged her hand back out of her sister's grasp. "You think I want to go to some stupid castle and learn to be a – a –"

Her pale eyes roved over the platform, over the cats mewling in their owners' arms, over the owls fluttering and hooting to each other in their cages, over the students, some already in their long black robes, loading trunks into the scarlet steam engine or else greeting friends who they haven't seen the entire summer.

"- you think I want to be a – a freak?"

Lily's eyes filled with tears as Petunia succeeded in tugging her hand away. "I'm not a freak," said Lily. "That's a horrible thing to say!"

"That's where you're going," said Petunia with a relish. "A special school for freaks. You and that Snape boy… weirdos, that's what you two are. It's good you're being separated from normal people. It's for our safety."

Lily glanced toward her parents, who were looking around the platform with an air of wholehearted enjoyment, drinking in the scene. Then she looked back at her sister, and her voice was low and fierce.

"You didn't think it was such a freak's school when you wrote to the headmaster and begged him to take you."

Petunia turned scarlet. "Beg? I didn't beg!"

"I saw his reply. It was very kind."

"You shouldn't have read…" whispered Petunia, "that was my private – how could you -?"

Lily gave herself away by half glancing to her left where a thin greasy haired boy stood. Petunia gasped.

"That boy found it! You and that Snape boy have been sneaking in my room!"

"No – no sneaking…" Now Lily was on the defensive. "Severus saw the envelope, and he couldn't believe a muggle could have contacted Hogwarts, that's all! He says there must be wizards working undercover in the postal service who take care of…"

"Apparently wizards poke their noses everywhere!" said Petunia, now as pale as she had been flushed. "Freak!" she spat at her sister, and she flounced off to where her parent's stood.

Lily stood there a moment, tears welling up in her eyes. She glanced over at Snape who was looking back at her, obviously aware of the argument that had just taken place. She quickly averted her eyes towards the floor, not wanting to look at him, and walked over to her parents.

"Ready Lily?" her father asked her, a big smile on his face.

Lily looked at her sister who now had her arms crossed and nose in the air. She didn't want to leave like this but she didn't want to be late for the train either. Why couldn't Petunia just understand it wasn't Lily's fault that she was a witch and Petunia wasn't.

"Yes daddy."

"We'll miss you dear!" said her mother. "You make sure you write to us won't you. We want to hear everything about Hogwarts and how you're doing." She gave Lily a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"All your bags and trunk are on the train already. Be careful and remember to study hard and have fun." Her father said, giving her a big hug.

Lily stepped away from her family and walked towards the train, glancing back at them she waved. Her parents waved back eagerly, excitement and pride shown on their faces.

"Be good dear!" her mother called. "Remember to write!"

Lily half smiled and looked at her sister, who was still standing with her arms folded but now her back was to Lily. "I'll write to you every week Tuney!" she called out as she stepped on the train.

Lily watched her family disappear as the train moved along platform 9 ¾ and started it's journey to Hogwarts. When she could no longer see them she stared out the window at the passing country side.

"You'll have to find a compartment dear, can't stand in the aisle the whole ride" said a woman pushing a trolley of sweets. "You won't want to anyway, the rides a long one. We won't get to Hogwarts until its dark." She left Lily staring at the long hall of compartments and continued down the aisle calling out for anyone who wanted anything off her cart.

Lily sighed, grabbed her carry on bag and went off to look for a seat. Walking along the aisles and peering into the compartments one by one made her feel very lonely. She didn't have any friends at this school, and the only person she did know, she was quite angry with at the moment. Walking past the each section she heard cries of delight and laughing of everyone as they sat with their friends and talked. Walking past a particular compartment with a few rowdy boys inside, she noticed that a seat by the window was open. Thinking it was either now or never she opened the door and let herself inside and sat down without saying a word.

The boys in the compartment looked to be about her age and were talking among themselves about something Lily had never heard of before, a game where you apparently played on the back of brooms. The idea struck her as quite funny and she begin to imagine how it would feel to ride a broom and wondered if it would be hard. What would Tuney think, she wondered, and as she did so her heart sank and tears begin to fall. Lily didn't want her sister to bring upset or angry with her for going to school. She also didn't want her to think that Lily was a freak. Leaving behind her family and home to face this entirely new obstacle alone was bad enough, but now having her sister hate her was harder than she could imagine.

It was while she was thinking about this, with her head pressed against the windowpane, that the door to the compartment opened again and Snape walked in. Lily glanced at him and looked back out the window.

"I don't want to talk to you," she said in a constricted voice.

"Why not?" A little crease appeared between Snape's eyes.

"Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore." Lily could barely manage the words aloud, she felt sick to her stomach.

"So what?"

She threw him a look of deep dislike. "So she's my sister!"

"She's only a…" He caught himself quickly; Lily too busy trying to wipe her eyes without being noticed, did not hear him.

"But we're going!" he said, unable to suppress the exhilaration in his voice. "This is it! We're off to Hogwarts!"

She nodded, mopping her eyes, but in spite of herself, she half smiled. Maybe he's right, she thought. She had tried to get Petunia to understand that it wasn't her fault that she was a witch and it was Petunia that was being mean to Lily. There were only so many times Lily could try to persuade her sister before she had to give up and let her sister come to her senses on her own.

"You'd better be in Slytherin," said Snape, encouraged that she had brightened a little.

"Slytherin?"

One of the boys sharing the compartment, who had shown no interest in Lily or Snape until that point, looked around at the word. He, like Snape had black hair but it was short and messy, almost as if it was that way on purpose. He wore round glasses and had an indefinable air of having been well cared for, maybe even adored.

"Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" he asked the boy lounging on the seat opposite him and next to Lily.

The boy did not smile, but looked at the floor. His own black hair fell in his face, which was handsome with well defined features.

"My whole family have been in Slytherin," he said a little sheepishly.

"Blimey," said the boy with the messy black hair, laughing a bit as he did so. "I thought you seemed alright!"

The boy across from him looked up and grinned. "Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"

The messy haired boy stood up and lifted an invisible sword. "Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart! Like my dad." He sat back down and ran his fingers through his hair, nodding at Lily and smiling.

Snape caught the look and his insides burned with jealously. Who was this kid? He thought and made a small, disparaging noise.

"Go a problem with that?" the boy asked, turning on Snape.

"No," said Snape, though his slight sneer said otherwise. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy…"

"Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" interjected the boy sitting next to Lily.

Both boys roared with laughter. Lily sat up, rather flushed, and looked at both of them in dislike.

"Come on Severus, let's find another place to sit."

"Ooooooo…"

One of the boys imitated her lofty voice and the other tried to trip Snape as he passed.

"See ya, Snivellus!" a voice called out, as the compartment door slammed closed.

"What jerks!" Lily hissed as soon as the door had closed. She had entirely forgotten about the fight with her sister and was now instead thinking about the awful boys in the compartment. She quickly walked through the aisles, peeking in each door as she did so, looking for empty seats.

"Here," she said opening a compartment door and walking in. There was only one person sitting here, which seemed odd as the rest of the compartments had been full, some even overfilled with students.

He looked up as the two of them entered. He was thin, maybe even a bit sickly from what Lily could tell, and had mousy brown hair. A few scars had marked the side of his face but otherwise he was very good looking and seemed to have a nice nature about him. He smiled politely and then turned to look out the window.

Lily walked in and sat down at the closest seat to the door and Snape sat across from her, glaring out the compartment window into the empty hall.

"What jerks." Lily said again. "Did you know those boys?"

"One of them." He said, not taking his eyes from the window. "The one who said his whole family had been in Slytherin, his name's Sirius Black. His family knows my mum." He looked over at the boy sitting next to the window, trying to figure out who he was but he had never seen him before. "He is a jerk," he continued. "His cousin Bellatrix is alright, and I've met his brother a few times, seemed nice enough."

Snape stared out the compartment window and Lily sat in silence, thinking about what the boys had said about Slytherin. Neither one of them had showed any interest in being in that particular house, but Snape had always talked so highly of it, always knowing that he would be a part of it. She had never heard of the house the boy had mentioned, in fact she hadn't heard about any of the houses besides Slytherin. She wanted to ask Snape about it, but figured it could wait until later. She didn't know who the other boy was and she wasn't going to be the one to bring about another argument about houses as it seemed to be a touchy subject.

Just as she was about to introduce herself to the boy by the window the woman who had been pushing the trolley peeked through the glass and opened the door. "Anything off the trolley?" she asked in a delightful tone.

It had only been a few hours since their departure but Lily was already hungry. She was so nervous before leaving the house that she had only grabbed a bit of toast as she ran out the door.

"Yes please." She said, taking coins from her pocket.

"What'll be dear?"

"Um, well… what do you have?"

"Let's see…" said the woman, shifting through the contents of the cart. "Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Cauldron Cakes, and Pumpkin Pasties. I'm afraid we're all out of licorice wands dear."

Lily looked at the trolley woman with utter confusion, having no idea what any of the items were.

"The Cauldron Cakes are good" said the boy by the window. "Just stay away from Bott's Every Flavor Bean; I ate an earwax one just yesterday and haven't been able to get the taste out of my mouth."

Lily turned and smiled at the boy. "I'll have 3 Cauldron Cakes please."

The witch handed Lily the Cauldron Cakes and continued on to the next compartment.

Lily shoved the rest of her money back in her pocket and handed a cake to Snape, who took it suspiciously at first but immediately opened it and started eating. She looked over to the boy who had resumed watching out the window and held out the second cake.

"Want one?" she asked.

The boy smiled and took the cake from Lily, opening and eating it just as eagerly as Snap had.

"My name is Lily Evans. This is Severus Snape." She said, opening her own cake and taking a bite.

The boy's mouth looked to be full of cake but he nonetheless he managed to force himself to swallow and smile.

"Nice to meet both of you. I'm Remus Lupin. Told you the Cauldron Cakes were good," he said holding up his empty wrapper. "Thanks."

Lily smiled but the only movement from Snape was the lifting of his eyebrow. "First year?" he asked.

"Yes. I've heard all about Hogwarts of course, but don't know anyone." His voice sounded somewhat distant, which made Lily think that he didn't have too many friends, in Hogwarts or anywhere else.

"Well, this is our first year too. Severus knows a few people and all about Hogwarts, but I only found out I was a witch this past summer," Lily beamed.

Snape shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Oh really? I bet that was a surprise." Remus laughed.

"Well, I knew I could do stuff, but it never occurred to me that there would be a school and everything. It's been quite exciting, although I must say I am a bit homesick already."

Remus looked out the window, watching the countryside rush by. "Yea, I'm a bit nervous myself. Never know what the new school year is going to bring."

"You practice at home at all?" Snape asked, sitting up a bit straighter in his seat.

"Not much, no. I've read a few of the books already and know incantations but I only just got my wand the day before yesterday. Didn't know I was going to be attending until the last minute."

"Oh, why not?" asked Lily with a slight frown.

Remus played with his fingers nervously. "Well… I've been sick quite a bit. Parents didn't know if I'd be well enough to leave just yet, but everything's fine now."

Snape shifted his eyes and looked at Remus, trying to figure out what sickness he could possibly have had that would make him unable to attend school. Before he could ask Lily was already talking again, which was fine by him, it meant less socializing on his part. He would actually prefer it if the boy would just leave the compartment so he and Lily could have it all to themselves. Disheveled as this boy was, Snape knew that he wasn't quite as attractive as Remus, and Lily and he seemed to be hitting it off quite well. A pang of jealousy rang through his insides.

Before he had a chance to jump back into the conversation the compartment door slid open and an older boy with pale blond hair, a pale pointed face, and the coldest grey eyes Snape had ever seen, walked in and looked around.

"Severus!" he said, sounding delighted. "Mulciber said he saw you and your mother before the train left, but wasn't sure where you… ran off to." A cold sneer crossed his face as her looked over the other two inhabitants of the compartment, his eyes resting on Lily.

"Lucius." Snape acknowledged him with a nod. "Made prefect this year, of course."

Lucius merely smiled and turned to Lily. "Lucius Malfoy" he said, pretending to introduce himself but making it sound like Lily should already be well aware of who he was.

Being polite, Lily gave a small smile. "Lily Evans" she said. "This is Remus Lupin."

Lucius ignored Remus but brought his hand up to his chin. "Evans? Hmm, not sure if I know that name…"

Snape's heart skipped a beat but he caught on quickly. "She's new here," he said in a hurry.

"Ah…-" Lucius seemed to think for a moment, his hand still rubbing his chin. Snape could see his twisted sneer get slightly bigger and his eyebrow raise, "Tell me, what line of wizards you descend from?"

Snape's heart not only skipped a beat, but he thought it had downright stopped beating all together. This is not how he wanted this to go. He knew about Slytherins, particularly Lucius Malfoy, being obsessed with blood but he thought that if maybe they saw Lily's magic at work first then they would accept her. If she had gotten sorted by the hat then they would know that she belonged with them, but now…

Just as Lily went to open her mouth the hall filled with the sound of a large blast and smoke started wafting in the door. A rather short plump boy went running by, followed by another.

"Excuse me," said Lucius just as another loud _bang_ erupted from behind him, causing him to jump sideways. He walked out, quickly slamming the booth door shut and muttering as he went the same way the boys had run.

Snape heaved a sigh of relief.

"Who was that?" Lily had a look of disbelief on her face.

"Just Malfoy," said Snape. "He's prefect for the Slytherin house. Don't worry about him, he can seem a little intense sometimes."

Lily glanced down at Snape's hands and frowned, causing Snape to look down as well. He had been wringing the hem of his robes, apparently unaware that he was doing so. He blushed slightly but before Lily could notice he stood up and looked out the compartment door.

"Someone's gone ahead and let off muggle fireworks," he said coolly.

"Ugh!" cried Remus. "They smell more like dung bombs."

Snape shut the door and slid back into his seat. "Looks like they set them off right outside our compartment."

"Wonderful."

The three of them listened to the shrieks of the other students as more fireworks were set off, the perpetrator obviously left uncaught. Even with all the excitement just outside the doors, the inside remained quiet. Soon the noise died away and Lily dozed off, leaving Snape to shuffle through his new textbooks. Remus continued to look out at the passing exterior until he too fell asleep, his head bouncing slightly on the window edge as the train roared on. It was a few hours later when Snape woke Lily explaining that they were due for Hogwart's shortly and she should change into her robes.

Minutes later all three of them were changed into their robes and anxiously waiting for the train, which had begun to decelerate, to come to a complete stop.

"I'm so nervous!" exclaimed Lily. "What if I don't make any friends or everyone hates me?"

Remus smiled. The same question had been going through his mind since his being a Hogwarts student became official.

"No one could hate _you_…" Color rose to Snape's pale cheeks.

The train had finally come to a crawl and Snape peeked out the compartment door. Remus crept forward, trying to look past Snape's shoulder's so he could glance outside but just as he did the train halted to a stop sending Snape's shoulder against the door and Remus into the seat closest to him. Lily also not prepared for the sudden lurch was sent sprawling on top of Remus, cheeks ablaze and apologies streaming from her lips.

"No worries." Remus blushed back.

"Really… sorry… wasn't prepared…"

Snape scowled. He could already tell this Remus Lupin fellow was no good. Not wanting Lily's attention to be diverted much longer, he picked up the books she had dropped in the spill and handed them back to her, opening the carriage door and beckoning her forward.

Everyone was pushing and shoving trying to get off the train, but finally the three of them were off and looking around.

"I wonder where we go…" Remus thought aloud.

Before either Snape or Lily had a chance to say anything a loud deep throated voice called out. "Firs' years over here!"

All three followed the sound of the voice and were very surprised when they came upon the person responsible, for they weren't even sure if it was a person at all. In front of them stood the biggest human any of them had ever seen. He stood as tall as two full grown men and was as wide, at the very least, as three. A long mane of shaggy black hair covered his head and a beard of exactly the same consistency covered the majority of his face. He raised his hands like a runway flagger, trying to get the first years attention. To their amazement, they saw that his hands were the size of trash can lids.

"Firs' years over here!" he bellowed out again.

Boldly, Snape walked forward. With a look of fear, Remus and Lily followed closely to his cloak ends. When the three of them reached him, the giant man looked down and smiled, noticing Lily's look of astonishment.

"Names Hagrid," he said.

"Uh… Hi Hagrid" Lily couldn't take her eyes from the giant leather coat he was wearing and wondered where a man of his size bought his clothes from.

"Well, you three better jump in a boat," he said glancing behind him toward a lake where more than a dozen small row boats littered the shore. "We'll be off soon."

With a glance behind their backs the three of them walked over to a boat and hopped inside, Remus made sure to steady the side so Lily could get in safely. Snape, noticing this act of gentility cursed himself for not doing it first and became annoyed at Remus for being such a Johnny-on-the-spot. He would have to make sure he held the boat firm when it was time for them to depart.

When it seemed all the first years had made their way to the boats they set off across the dark rippling water. The trip was a short one and soon everyone was gathering on the opposite shore, talking excitedly among themselves. Just as he had planned, Snape held the edge of the boat steady as Lily made her way out. Just as she was about to hop down her cloak caught on a nail sticking out of the boat's bow, causing her to fall forward and Snape's foot to slip into the cold lake water. Lily managed to catch herself before falling flat on her face but the damage had already been done to Snape. The bottom of his trouser leg, his sock, and his shoe were complete soaked through.

"Oh! I'm so sorry Severus!" Lily cried out, looking down at Snape's leg.

Snape's lips seemed to migrate to the right side of his face and he frowned slightly.

"It's alright Lily…"

"Hey Snivellus!" A familiar voice cried out through the crowd. "Finally decide to wash your hair?"

"Looks like he started Sirius, I'm guessing he's going for one body part at a time!"

"Good one James!"

Both boys appeared from the crowd, smiling devilishly.

"I'll have you know he slipped while helping me from the boat!" Lily scolded the two boys. "Unlike you two prats, he has manners!"

James and Sirius looked at each other, their eyebrows slowly crawled up their foreheads before they both burst into laughter.

Lily glared at the two boys.

"We'd love to hear all about it but we got a sorting to get to," James said, turning on his heels walking back into the crowd.

"See ya, Snivellus!" Sirius called out, walking quickly after James. The two boys vanished as quickly as they had appeared.

"Rude!" said Lily to no one in particular. She looked over at Snape whose face was contorted into a snarl and was muttering under his breath. Lily felt a twinge of guilt. It was her fault Snape had slipped into the water and was now all wet.

"I'm sorry…" Lily said timidly. "I didn't mean…"

"Don't worry," Snape cut in, glaring at the backs of the first years as they headed toward the castle.

"They're jerks Severus. Just forget about them." Lily grabbed his hand and started leading him after the rest of the first years who had managed to get quite a bit ahead of them.

As if he had been slipped a forgetfulness potion, the fiasco that had just taken place escaped his mind as soon as he felt Lily's gentle touch. He was soon too worried that somehow his current thoughts might be draining out of his fingertips into hers, allowing her to know exactly what he was thinking. Of course he knew this wasn't possible but then again, he never thought it possible that he would be holding hands with the young girl he had spent so much time during the summer with.

Soon they had found themselves inside the castle and just outside two large doors, behind which droned a flurry of voices. A very stern looking witch who had announced herself as Professor McGonagall had come in and explained some of the rules of Hogwarts School along with the sorting, and to Lily's delight, the four houses. But before they had so much as a chance to glance around, the witch bade them quiet and ushered them into a large cavernous room where thousands and thousands of candles floated above them.

The voices they had heard were from other students who were all sitting down at four different tables, one for each house by the looks of it. The tables themselves were lined with hundreds of golden plates and goblets, each belonging to a student, all of whom seemed to be staring at the open doors and the first years walking through them.

Lily trembled slightly and gave a tight squeeze to Snape's fingertips. She followed Professor McGonagall, who had walked to the top of hall and placed a stool in front of another long table, which from what Lily could guess, sat the teachers of Hogwarts. With a flick of her wand a dirty looking hat appeared on the stool, looking rather old and worn.

Lily looked over at Snape who was watching the scene intently.

"What is that for?" she whispered in his ear.

"I'm not sure…" he answered, not taking his eyes off the stool or that hat.

"Do you suppose they're going to pull a rabbit out of it?"

Snape and Lily looked beside them at Remus Lupin who was jammed in next to them, a broad smile on his face. Lily giggled, letting go of Snape's hand and brining her own to her mouth to try and stifle the laugh.

"That's a stu…" but before Snape could finish his insult the hat moved and a rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth, and it begin to sing!

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Hat can't see,

So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true and unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

If you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folk use any means

To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none)

For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

As the hall boomed with applause, the first years stood quiet, amazed by the fact that they had just witnessed a hat that could sing.

"No rabbit then?" Remus sounded a little disappointed. "Ah well."

Professor McGonagall motioned for silence and the whole hall echoed in it. She then stepped forward, unraveling a long parchment of paper and said aloud "When I call your name, please step up to be sorted. Abrams, Daniel!"

Professor McGonagall continued to call students and the hat called out which house it thought best for that particular student. Lily was too busy watching the events that she had nearly missed the calling of her name. On trembling legs she walked forward and sat down on the stool. McGonagall gently placed the hat down on her head and in a matter of seconds she heard it call out.

"Gryffindor!" the hat boomed.

Lily's heart sank and she jumped off the stool, heading to the cheering group of Gryffindors. As she walked past, she glanced at Snape and gave him a sad smile. She so badly wanted to just run back to the hat and try to persuade it to change its mind. Instead she walked over to the table and looked around, realizing for the first time that the boy who had been harassing them earlier was sitting down right next to her. The boy smiled, almost asking for another scolding from her. Instead she sat down and immediately turned her back to him to continue watching.

Soon enough Remus was also called to Gryffindor and sat down next Lily, happy to already know someone in his house. Lily, also glad that she knew someone began to chat quietly with him as the other students were called by Professor McGonagall. It was when the other boy from the train sat down that Lily really begin to feel disheartened. She couldn't understand why she and Remus where in a house with such obviously mean boys. She tried to think of what the hat had said about the qualities that Gryffindor students when a familiar name snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Snape, Severus!" cried Professor McGonagall.

Snape walked forward eagerly and sat down, his back straight and his head held high, almost in an arrogant manner. The sorting hat had barely touched his head before it cried out "Slytherin!" and he jumped down, briefing glancing at Lily before he made his way over to the cheering Slytherin table and the blond headed boy Lily had met earlier.

Everything seemed a blur to Lily after that. Even the magnificent dinner that had shown up out of nowhere couldn't seem to cheer her up. Every few minutes she would try and glance over at Snape but the overly bulky 5th years in Slytherin were blocking her view. It was only after the headmaster's speech, when the Prefects called the first years to line up, did she finally make contact with him again. They were just inside the great hall, waiting for the older students to move out when Snape was able to sidestep his way over to her.

"Is this how it's always going to be?" Lily asked quickly, glancing over her shoulder at Gryffindor's Prefect, making sure she wouldn't get in trouble.

"No…" Snape frowned. "We might have some classes together, but we won't know until tomorrow."

"Those two boys are in my house," she said nodding her head towards the back, where it so happened that the two boys were laughing loudly about something.

Snape glared.

"Well, I better get going," Lily said as she noticed that the front of the line had started moving. "Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow Severus!" She frowned slightly but waved goodbye, heading off with the rest of her house.

Snape waved back and walked over to his own house, which had also begun to move in the direction of the dungeons. He was beyond annoyed that Lily had been sorted into a totally different house, but he found himself absolutely furious that she had been sorted into the same one as the two knuckleheads on the train.

The rest of the night went by quickly. Both Snape and Lily had been shown around the castle and had been able to look around their common rooms themselves. Both had gone to bed early, the days events running through their minds, finally resting on each other before they drifted off to sleep, both assuring themselves that they would make time during the following day for a social call.


End file.
